How many LPs before a New Cart breaks in ?
- Thread starter Frank Sol
- Start date
I think it depends more on the Adult beverage count...
Sounds like a wonderful evening ahead!
Sounds like a wonderful evening ahead!
Eric Lloyd
Well-Known Member
Sounds like a good ball park estimate. Remember to eat a little, rotate in some drinking water and clean the stylus occasionally.
Think your on the mark. Elliptical stylus seems to not change much. I think the album changes. To my ears anyway
arts
Addicted Member
Depends on the cartridge. Some will sound virtually the same from out of the box right up till you need to replace the stylus.Most,though,seem to ''settle in'' somewhere in the 25 to 50 hour range.
One of my buddies,after installing and dialing in a new cartridge, will play 25 to 30 albums worth of material (that he absolutely despises and will never actually listen to) before he will even fire up the system.
One thing to keep in mind: even just one drink will skew (and screw!) your auditory perception. Have a great night with your son,but save the evaluations until you're sober
One of my buddies,after installing and dialing in a new cartridge, will play 25 to 30 albums worth of material (that he absolutely despises and will never actually listen to) before he will even fire up the system.
One thing to keep in mind: even just one drink will skew (and screw!) your auditory perception. Have a great night with your son,but save the evaluations until you're sober
restorer-john
Addicted Member
I think I broke mine in last night- it played the lead out groove for quite a number of hours while I was asleep...
bob06
Addicted Member
Never drink and spin.
mjw21a
Super Member
Depends on the cartridge. My Hana EL sounds the same as when it came out of the box, my Denon DL103 had an enormous improvement in dynamics, bass and soundstage with break in. Mods took it to another level.
I've noticed that older cartridge designs seem to benefit from break in more than modern cartridges where the change is smaller, if there's a change at all.
I've noticed that older cartridge designs seem to benefit from break in more than modern cartridges where the change is smaller, if there's a change at all.
bobins08
Celebrating Life
The last few stylus that I broke in I actually kept track of album sides played and multiplied by 20 to get total minutes.
I hear most of the improvement in the first 4 to 10 sides. I hear a bit more by 20-25th side and then very little change after that.
That said, my Grado MCZ and my DL 301 MK II "warm up" every time I play them. I definitely notice that they "bloom" between 5 and 10 minutes of the first play. I hear this every time.
I think different cartridges are different in this regard. It has been my experience that styli with lower compliance suspensions sound more different to me after several hours of play than more compliant ones do (right out of the box, there can be a degree of stridency in the string sections that smooths and sweetens after a break-in period). Ortofon suggests up to 20 hours of break-in time before best performance is reached, and it had been my habit to experiment again with optimal VTA and tracking force after a cartridge had about that many hours on it. The last few years, the only cartridge I've used is the M97xE, replacing the stylus (always an original N97xE) about every 9 months. Also, I now use a Rega that has no VTA adjustment, and I prefer using minimal anti-skate with slightly higher VTF than the recommended 1.25 grams. To my aging ears, and in these operating conditions, the new styli always sound good right from day one, and I really haven't noticed a change that I can attribute to break-in time.
